The first practice of fall camp is done, and all the questions surrounding this team have been answered.
Yeah, right.
First-year coach Dave Christensen liked the fact he had a full team out there, even though there were a lot of young players. But there were 105 guys running around in hemlets and shorts, and there were no injuries.
Perhaps the biggest event of the day was the fact myself and WTE photographer AAron Ontiveroz were about an hour late to practice because an accident involving a semi-truck on the summit on I-80. Traffic was held up for miles, but we were near the front. AAron, the good photojournalist he is, got shots of the accident. No one was hurt and the truck was the only vehicle involved.
Back to football, here are some thoughts and notes from the first day:
–Junior-college transfer quarterback Robert Benjamin showed that he could bring an element of athleticism to the position UW hasn’t had in a while, and could use in running first-year coach Dave Christensen’s spread offense. Benjamin ripped off a couple of impressive runs and looked the part throwing the ball, too. But that’s without pads. Just the fact Benjamin is here is a story in its own right. Check that out in today’s WTE.
–True freshman quarterback Austyn Carta-Samuels is listed at 6-foot-2, but looks closer to 6-foot. Still, he has a big-time competitive drive to him that will serve him well at the position.
–Redshirt freshman Adam Barry has been officially moved from quarterback to middle linebacker. With Benjamin and Carta-Samuels joining senior Karsten Sween and junior Dax Crum, Barry wanted to play and thought linebacker would be a good spot. UW needs help at linebacker in terms of depth, and Barry certainly looks the part. at 6-1, 217 pounds (he looks bigger than that). He is still wearing jersey No. 13. There is a freshman walk-on quarterback named Matt Cobb from Colorado Springs, Colo., who also wears No. 13.
–Defensive lineman Mike Neuhaus was caught from behind just short of the goal line after he intercepted a pass last season at Tennessee. He recovered a Crum fumble in Thursday’s practice and returned it for a touchdown. He joked with me after practice that no one could run him down this time around.
–Some true freshmen who looked good in their UW debut to me were linebackers Todd Knight and Devyn Harris, tight end T.J. Smith and receiver Chris McNeill.
–Practice was held in the school’s indoor practice facility because of an afternoon thunderstorm that produced a decent amount of rain and thunder.
The team practices once at 8:45 a.m. Friday through Monday. Media day is Saturday, and from 3:30-4:30 p.m. an autograph session for fans will be held at Jonah Field at War Memorial Stadium. The first practice in full pads is Monday and the first two-a-day session is Tuesday.
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